Bad Dreams Can Be an Early Warning Sign of Big Health Problems

Conservative News DailyJanuary 16, 2023

If you’ve ever woken up in a panic It’s not unusual to feel like you are alone in middle of the night. It doesn’t matter if you are suddenly falling apart or if you show up to an important event unprepared. bad dreams Most people have experienced some disruption in their sleep.

But that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t be worried about nightmares. Recent research shows a link between bad dreams and serious underlying health issues. Continue reading to learn more about what bad dreams might be signaling.

READ THIS NEXT If You Sleep This Way, Your Dementia Risk Soars, Study Warns.

Close up of a man in a white t-shirt sleeping on white sheets looking anxious. — Shutterstock

The University of Birmingham, U.K. discovered a disturbing link between Parkinson’s disease and nightmares. In a June 2022 study Published in eClinicalMedicineThe researchers used data from the U.S. for 12 years to analyze 3,818 older men who were living independently. There were 91 Parkinson’s cases among them by the end.

Researchers found that participants who had frequent bad dreams were twice as likely develop Parkinson’s disease than those who didn’t. Participants who experienced more nightmares in the first five years were three times more likely to get the disease. “which suggests that frequent distressing dreams may be a prodromal symptom of [Parkinson’s disease],” According to the study.

Older Woman With Dementia Risk — Shutterstock

Bad dreams can also be linked to Parkinson’s disease, but that isn’t the only brain disorder. There are many other brain disorders that can cause bad dreams. follow-up study Published Oct. 2022 by the same researchers eClinicalMedicineA link was found between dementia and nightmares according to a study. This study examined data from over 600 individuals in the U.S., between the ages 36 and 64 and 2,600 at the age of 79 and older.

“I found that middle age participants who suffered from nightmares every single week were overwhelmingly middle-aged,” four times more likely The older participants were twice more likely to be diagnosed as having dementia. Abidemi Otaiku Science Alert – I wrote an article. “Overall, these results suggest frequent nightmares may be one of the earliest signs of dementia, which can precede the development of memory and thinking problems by several years or even decades—especially in men.”

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young woman lying in bed looking worried and can't fall asleep — Shutterstock

Previous research has shown that bad sleep patterns could not just be linked to your brain. Researchers presented their findings at the 2020 annual meeting of the Associated Professional Sleep Societies. presented a new study Medscape Medical News reported that there is a link between nightmares and heart disease. Study included 3,468 veterans from the Sept. 11th 2001 war who were either in one or two of the three tours. Around 31 percent of these veterans reported having nightmares frequently, while 35 percent reported experiencing mildly distressing nightmares during the week prior.

Researchers found that nightmares are strongly associated with hypertension, heart disease, and sex problems, even after adjusting for race, sex and sex.

“A diagnosis of PTSD incorporates sleep disturbance as a symptom. Thus, we were surprised to find that nightmares continued to be associated with [cardiovascular disease] after controlling not only for PTSD and demographic factors, but also… depression diagnosis,” Christi UlmerMedscape Medical News spoke with Dr. Judith Sullivan, an assistant professor at the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences of Duke University Medical Center.

depressed old man and stressed lying in bed from insomnia — iStock

Isabella Gordan?, sleep expert The founder of Sleep Society further discredits the link between health problems and nightmares. “The connection between nightmares and dementia has been linked to the breakdown of cognitive areas affected by dementia, such as memory and processing speed. Nightmares may also be an early warning sign in some cases of Parkinson’s disease due to a decrease in dopamine production or an increase in REM sleep behavior disorder,” Gordan tells Best Life. “As for heart disease, studies have found that frequent nightmares can lead to higher levels of cortisol (a stress hormone) being released during the night, which could cause increased blood pressure, raising one’s risk for developing heart disease.”

However, bad dreams do not always indicate a deeper problem. Gordan says that people can have trouble sleeping at night without having any underlying health problems. “normal part of the sleep cycle and often reflect our current mental state or worries during the day.” It means that anything can be taken from “stressful situations, intense emotions, and even certain medications” She believes that our dreams can be affected by what we do.

However, it is a good idea to keep an eye on your nightmares to make sure you are safe. “People should talk to their doctor if they are regularly having bad dreams or have started experiencing an increase in the number of bad dreams they’re having,” Gordon says. “Research has suggested that frequent nightmares and bad dreams can be a sign of deteriorating mental and physical health, including conditions such as dementia and Parkinson’s disease, so it’s important to speak to a healthcare provider.”